Leap Wireless, T-Mobile Reach Spectrum-Exchange Deal

Leap Wireless International said Monday that it agreed to license exchange agreements with T-Mobile USA that will give the pay-as-you-go carrier expanded broadband spectrum in Phoenix and several Texas markets.

In exchange T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, will gain additional spectrum in some markets in Alabama, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

The deal also involves exchanges with Leap's noncontrolled, majority-owned venture Savary Island Wireless and T-Mobile's joint venture with Cook Inlet.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The moves support Leap and T-Mobile's planned deployment of long-term evolution (LTE) technology, or 4G, the latest mobile data network standard that phone companies are rushing to adopt.

Leap aims to cover about two-thirds of its current network footprint with LTE technology over the next two to three years.

T-Mobile, the fourth-largest carrier in the US, plans to spend $4 billion over the next several years to upgrade its network, rolling out so-called 4G LTE technology in 2013.

Leap shares closed Thursday at $8.42 and were inactive premarket. Markets were closed Friday for Good Friday. The stock has lost nearly half its value in the past year.